Spotlight On Writers
Michelle Dark
- Where, do you hail from?
Born in Essex, UK we stayed until I reached the age of 15 (or thereabouts) when we moved to Surrey. Emigrated to Melbourne Australia when I was 19. We landed in Balwyn, moved up the road to Canterbury and then I found a home for 4 years in Heidelberg West eventually moving back East to Scoresby with my Husband and Daughter where I have been for 7 years.
It’s been a Rollercoaster and I am not done yet.
- What is the greatest thing about the place you call home?
Although I have been here for 7 years I don’t love Scoresby. The best thing about living here is overlooking the Dandenong Ranges and being close to the peninsula beaches, it can be very inspiring watching the rain coming
over the hills or exploring the rock pools of Shoreham.
It’s also a very safe place to live. Having existed in high crime areas on and off it is a big relief to know you don’t have to flinch at every sound or lock everything down.
- What turns you on creatively?
A million tiny things, as with all writers.
Other artists, animals, nature, relationships and the psychology of family. I am fascinated by watching small children interact with the world.
Politically the feminist movement is hugely inspirational.
I love to sing and music has always been a major creative influence from Edith Piaf to Kendrick Lamar I can always judge my mood by my playlist.
It sounds cliché but I have found motherhood has allowed me to express my emotions in a richer and more gratifying way.
- What is your favorite word, and can you use it in a poetic sentence?
Choosing a favourite word is tough and it’s something I haven’t considered before. I really like “dispossessed”. I feel like today my favourite would be “whimsical”.
It’s Christmas time and my daughter just left for her last day of school so I am feeling excited.
“Her rebellious curls cut short, the glint of mischief in her corn blue eyes,
All at once so wise and whimsical”
- What is your pet peeve?
Oh I have so many!
On a small scale the one that is currently displaying more frequently grandiose gestures without substance.
You may be able to buy an expensive gift or be there for someone’s wedding day but when the chips are down would you be around in dire times or everyday grind?
On a large scale, my pet peeve is how women are treated in Australia.
- What defines Michelle Dark?
I think the word that defines me best is “Chameleon”.
I don’t sit still for too long unless I am observing. I chop and change. I feel I have lived a thousand lives and have a fear of being one person for too long. Getting married and having a child has slowed that down somewhat along with a great deal of therapy and bipolar medication. I am a passionate person who seeks social justice. I can be feisty and cantankerous when I see someone being mistreated. I have also been told I am “too generous”, which seems absurd. I am fiercely protective and loyal to those I cherish and entirely dismissive of those I do not like.
I get really carried away by a certain idea for a while and suddenly tire of it and move on to the next. I cannot stand “in-betweens”, I like decisiveness and perseverance. Lazy people drive me into rage. If I don’t understand a topic, then I will research it until I do.
- Still Life Love - April 27, 2020
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- Spotlight On Writers – Michelle Dark - January 26, 2019
